Talon's Edge March 2010

Briefing Room for February 20, 2010

Here are notes for the meeting Feb. 20. I took notes on book discussion, but can include them next time. [I also took pretty detailed notes on the discussion and will combine them with Diane’s content or will write them up as a news story later – Rob’s note] Notes were short, since we were pressed for time. As I recall, Steph, Brett, Gary, you [Rob] and I were present, as was Linda. We will discuss Orson Scott Card's *Ender in Exile* next month.

Linda's new phone is 859-409-3807 until phone and Internet are turned on.

We voted to table the Editorial policy discussion until after Millennicon. Editorial Board (Command staff + newsletter editor) should remain in place. RL will lead the Star Trek panel. DB is on the panel along with Gary. [Steph is also on the panel. - Rob’s note] March 6th is Apollo 13 + discussion of James Lovell's book, LOST MOON in conjunction w/ Starbase Karma@ the Covington Library. Afterward, we will watch the Abrams STAR TREK film. [Steph, Gary and I did all of this. – Rob’s note]

BTW, Buzz Aldrin's MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION has come out. Thought you'd like to know. ---djb

Upcoming U.S.S. Aquila Events

Mar. 13 Book Discussion of Orson Scott Card’s Ender in Exile at 1 and U.S.S. Aquila business meeting at 2 P.M. in Board Room of Covington library

Mar. 19-21 Millennicon w/ U.S.S. Aquila-led panel on Star Trek at noon, Sat. Mar. 20

Apr. 10 Book discussion and U.S.S. Aquila meeting, Conf. Room 1 reserved 11 am-4:30

Apr. 23-24 Dover Peace Conference reunion in New Philadelphia, OH, see info below

As always, there is the chocolate party, and the dance on Friday night as well as the return of the Maltz run! Saturday is a day for reminiscing and reconnecting with all the friends we haven’t seen in ever so long. There is also the group picture to be taken and the banquet, during which we will have the charity auction! And then there’s the Saturday night dance! There is also a canned food drive taking place all weekend to benefit the local food banks, as well as a 50/50 raffle. We are hoping to have space available in the conference center for folks to gather and hang out in during the day on Saturday. (We are still waiting on the word about that and possible vendors.)

Ticket prices are $40.00 ( same as before) When purchasing tickets please send checks or money orders made out to; Camp Dover Peace Conference and mail them to:

Camp Dover Peace Conference

105 Charles Dr.

Dover, Ohio 44622-3160

The cut off date for ticket purchases that include the banquet has been extended to March 17^th, 2010.

Registration will be open on Friday and Saturday, hours as follows.

Friday: 3pm to 7pm

Saturday: 10am to 3pm

Folks, when registration is closed, it’s closed.

If you know you are not going to be able to make those times, please let us know ahead of time so that we can make arrangements for you.

If you are planning on having a room party, please be aware that you are responsible for whatever takes place within your room. Commonsense, I know, but here’s the thing: If you are having a room party, it needs to stay in your room. No spilling out into the hall or having folks stand around with the room door wide open.

We are asking this in consideration of the small size of the Inn and any other possible guests that they may have. We are also asking that room parties do not officially begin until 11pm on Friday or Saturday night. If you are having a room party, please sign in on the room party list at registration. Also, if you would contact us ahead of time, that would be a great help!

Room Party? Contact us here!

Speaking of things you might want folks to know about, here is the info on signage.

We do ask that if you have signs to display, please do not place them on the walls. There will be a write board available in the lobby as well as space for small signs (Half of an 8&1/2 x 11 sheet). Ship or group banners (or other identifying signage) are allowed on hotel room doors, just please be careful as to how you attach them as we want the hotel to still like us when we leave.

Hotel Information:

Schoenbrunn
Inn and suites
1186 West High Ave.
New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663
Phone: 330-339-4334
Fax: 330-339-5749

There is a flat rate for all rooms of $79.95 plus tax. If you’d like to come a day early, we have an arrangement with the hotel for Thursday, April 22, 2010 at the Reunion rate. Please mention that you are with the Camp Dover Peace Conference Reunion when reserving your room. We also have an extended checkout time so don't forget to ask!

Questions or comments? Get in touch with us at:

campdoverpeacecon@gmail.com

A Few Thoughts on Star Trek

By Rob Langenderfer

This is arguably long overdue since it has been almost a year since the movie came out, but I have found in the past that when I tried to force myself to write reviews, like because of my desire to be a completist and review every single Star Trek season of every series in the franchise that was ever done, things sometimes haven’t turned out well because some particular seasons, like a number of years of Star Trek: Voyager weren’t really bad but they weren’t really good. In other words they were dull as dirt and inspired very little emotion in me either way, for good or for ill. Dull episodes help to bring about dull reviews. Now Star Trek (the new film) was certainly not dull. Its problem was almost the opposite. It inspired so much feeling in me (for both good and a little ill) that it was hard for me to sort everything out to be able to find a focus for my review. However, at this point I think I have done so, and with only 12 days before we head a panel discussion on the new film for the attendees of Millennicon, I hope that my insights are helpful in getting everyone to think about the movie in a deep and stimulating way.

I had a very good time at the premiere of Star Trek that many of us attended back on May 8, 2009. It was great being with all of you and hanging out and seeing Tony and Tricia Scott and Miriam and Art Lauer when they came out of the show (and myself seeing Tony before he went in). I wish we would have gotten some new members from the recruiting drive, but regardless of the results, it was a good effort. My all-time favorite history professor has a saying that has really resonated with me (and interestingly enough even though I have known him for 17 years I can’t remember him saying it before now) but it is, “You play the hand that you are dealt with.” and we certainly did that night and for all of the stress that I have had to undergo at different points, I feel like I have almost always played the hand that I’ve been dealt to the best of my ability and so I have been able to gain a measure of peace. Anyway, the film itself had some amazing special effects and it had very good performances from Bruce Greenwood as Captain Pike, Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as McCoy, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura (finally given a first name and the writers even gave her the one from the novels that had been accepted by Nichelle Nichols – they definitely did their homework on Trek lore) and the incomparable Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime. The one problem for me was that in seeing it at 11:40 P.M., I committed the equivalent of heresy and actually fell asleep during part of the film!

Later I read the novel of the film by Alan Dean Foster and loved it and got a great deal more out of the book than I had the film at the theater and realized for just how much of the film I had fallen asleep! I took my sister Julie to see the film when it came to the $3 theater. Julie absolutely loved the film and thought it was spectacular. I also had gotten so much more out of it this time, particularly as I was able to stay awake for the whole film! The plotline of the lives of Kirk and Spock are compelling to watch as we see the two of them develop in their early years. Eric Bana’s Nero is a melodramatic over-the-top villain but with the pain that he suffered, one can’t help but feel some real sympathy for him as well. The writers do a very good job of allowing Trek to start fresh while still preserving the continuity of the old Trek universe, via Nimoy’s appearance and the alternate universe storyline. It is a film that I always manage to get a new appreciation of every time I see it, and Julie was thrilled to receive it from me as a Christmas gift. Perhaps it’s the time that I see it but for whatever reason, it is only the time that I saw it in the $3 theater that I managed to stay awake for the whole film. It may also be my age and the fact that I’ve had a lot of other stuff on my mind lately. The first part of the film bringing the crew together is better than the second half, but I definitely gained a much greater appreciation of the second half of the film when I saw it with Julie in the $3 theater. Kirk’s meeting with Spock Prime and their meeting Scotty is inspired, and Kirk’s fight with Spock is dramatic and compelling. Spock and McCoy’s relationship is foreshadowed in how McCoy tells Spock about how he shouldn’t leave his prize stallion in the saddle, and Spock concedes the point but notes that a stallion must be broken. McCoy instinctively knows this, but he also dislikes being contradicted and so almost in a ritualistic sort of way says “that pointy eared…”. Their relationship of real affection and respect hidden by barbs and teasing is really done well in this film, possibly even better than the writers themselves could see, but as someone who has seen all 79 episodes of the series, all 6 original films, all of the animated episodes and read more novels with the original cast than any other of the Trek series, I could definitely see it! Spock and Kirk’s friendship is also off to a rocky but lasting start in the film, and it provides much of the film’s tension and drama as well as lighter moments. Overall, director J.J. Abrams made a fantastic choice in telling the story of how the original crew came together. It was the one story that could truly galvanize traditional Trek fans as well as a new audience and by finding a way to preserve the old while opening the door to a fresh new Trek universe (one without Vulcan or Spock’s mother), the director really managed to secure the strong loyalty and affection of the curious who did not know Trek (like Kristie Strittmatter) as well as the die-hard Trek fans. The graphic novel prequel of the film was somewhat disappointing, but it is something that I will re-read to prepare for our Millennicon panel on the new film, and I will also read Star Trek: The Art of the Film, which has been interesting so far. The music of the film was very well-done, and the special effects were wondrous. I initially disliked Uhura being paired with Spock, but the idea has grown on me a great deal during the past year, and based on little tidbits that you see in the original series, you can see a bond of trust and friendship that could have been forged in a romantic relationship that had been broken off for some reason (a reason that we will hopefully see in one of the later films, although one could also make the argument that since it’s an alternate universe, their romantic relationship would by no means have to stop). There are nice little touches, such as a reference to Admiral Archer’s beagle (a nod to Enterprise), Kirk’s parents having the right names (which the screenwriters would have gotten from reading the novels or behind-the-scenes books or guides written by Roddenberry), and Spock quoting himself from the earlier films. McCoy meeting Kirk when he did was a bit jarring as I had always had the impression that they had known each other years before Kirk had known Spock. However, the most jarring thing about the new film is something that happens towards the end of the story, and it is this point that I want to focus on and hopefully it will give us all some good stuff to chew on as we prepare for our panel.

Near the end of the film Kirk and Spock give Nero the chance to get assistance from them. Kirk points out that if they help him, it may help their relationships with the Romulan Empire. Spock and Kirk know very clearly how much Nero has hurt them in destroying Vulcan and both of them have the emotional desire to get back at him and kill him. When Nero refuses their help, they don’t just leave; they actively destroy him! Now this is a very human act that all of us can empathize with, but it is NOT in the tradition of Star Trek.

In “City on the Edge of Forever”, in the original script that Harlan Ellison wrote, he had Spock contemplating Edith’s murder to preserve the timeline, and Ellison had Kirk freeze rather than stop McCoy from saving Edith and Spock ended up doing it. As one writer in one of the Best of Trek volumes long ago, that may have been better drama, but it wasn’t Star Trek. James Kirk is a hero (a representative of contemporary man as David Gerrold put it in The World of Star Trek) and to have him be unable to make the tough choice (as well as have Spock actually commit a murder to preserve the timeline) was not Star Trek. The Gene Coon/Dorothy C. Fontana/Gene Roddenberry re-write of Harlan Ellison’s draft was true Star Trek. Ellison’s draft wasn’t Star Trek at all (or at least it wasn’t the series Roddenberry conceived). The same thing is true here.

Gary Pierce and I were talking about this, and he agreed with me that on this film (like every Star Trek film after The Voyage Home, with the partial exception of Generations and First Contact), the need to appeal to a mass audience with broad humor and the type of thing that mainstream audiences want to see compel the screenwriters to put scenes like the one described above with Nero that do not fit in with the established legacy of Star Trek. Does this entirely wreck the film? No. The film was able to attract many new people because of it being an origin story. Now that the Trek universe has a bunch of eager new fans, however, the writers must not be afraid to go back to the social commentary and moral questions and values that helped to make Star Trek so memorable in that it was a series of hope and belief that humanity could become better and weren’t just stuck in the bitter hatreds and anger that envelops our world today so much of the time. If the next film is able to retain that legacy of Trek, which is its most meaningful treasure, the very reason that it has survived for more than 40 years, Trekkers both old and new will really have something to celebrate!

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